1095 blade warp fix question

M

millejn3

Well-Known Member
Quick and simple question.

I have a blade made from 1095 that warped on me... I plan on tempering at 500 degrees 2 times. Can I staighten the blade durning the 2nd tempering cycle of/at 500 degrees ? Or would it be better to normalize striaghten - re heat the blade and re quench?
 
Last edited:
millejn3 said:
Quick and simple question.

I have a blade made from 1095 that warped on me... I plan on tempering at 500 degrees 2 times. Can I staighten the blade durning the 2nd tempering cycle of/at 500 degrees ? Or would it be better to normalize striaghten - re heat the blade and re quench?
Click to expand...

What size knife are you making? Will it be a chopper or a slicer? 500F is a bit high for the optimum 1095 strength to abrasion resistance performance range, it will work but of you need to draw it back that far, 1084, 1080, 0r 1075 would be better steel choices for the application.

That being said, I would shim and clamp it straight and straighten during the temper cycle, only if all else fails would I resort to renormalizing.
 
I should have been a little more clear on the knife its self... It will be a hunting knife.. Not a chopper... I had a 10" piece of 1095 in the corner of the shop for lord knows how long and figured why not give it a go...
My idea is a follows; Near the end of the 2nd temper, take 2 pieces of flat stock -that I have put in the oven with the blade as not to act as a plate quench- and C-clamp back to straight and let soak for 30 more minutes..
Thoughts anyone?
 
I c-clamp and shim to a piece of angle iron that stays with it through all tempering. It's often straight after the first quench - and easy to tweak the shims and clamps a bit if needed through the second quench. The flat stock is as liable (or more) to warp itself. The angle iron is much less susceptible to deforming.

Rob!
 
You can also clamp the blade to a file and slightly over correct with shims. I believe it would be better to start the straightening process in the first temper cycle. please correct me if I am wrong though.
 
I used a piece of 1/2" low carbon plate with washers and C-clamp during the second temping cycle. It worked well for the most part except for the last 3/4 " to the tip. Should I re heat before I try to correct this area? Not sure if I used the proper tempering temp or not. I went with 450 for 2 hours twice... I think I stick to my quench plates and stainless... :60:
 
Update.... Ok everyone...first I want to thank everyone for their input and helpful ideas... After about an hour and a half of tinkering with it I finally got it back straighter than I ever thought I would!! I'm VERY happy with it!! Next I wasn't quite sure weather or not my tempering process was in the ball park or not. I had a really nice piece of Redwood Flame Burl that I wanted to use on this blade but I didn't want to waste it on a knife if it wasn't going to hold an edge worth a crap. Basically I didn't want a awesome looking junk knife! I went ahead and sharpened the blade to hair popping sharp. Next I grabbed a 2x2 and I began cutting and hacking until I made it thru. After all of the whittling and cutting I can still shave the hair off my arm!!! :happy: Luck for my first 1095 blade? :les: I would say YEP!!! LOL... but I,ll take it!!! I'll have to slightly knock the edge off before finishing and be careful but I couldn't be happier!!
 
Of the high carbon steels, around 1%, 1095 is probably the easiest for the beginner. If you do form retained austinite a triple temper will probably convert most of it. What gives most makers fits with that alloy is a low manganese level which can make it very shallow hardening. If you chopped up a bunch of wood splinters and it still shaves hair you did a good job. All blades should always pass a usage test before they leave your shop.

Doug
 
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